Robbie Williams: Not an American Performance

Hey, Jellynoters! My name is Hayley and I am interning with Jellynote this summer in Paris; the city of light, the city of love! I moved to Paris this summer from Michigan, USA and it has been quite the change-up. This is my first time in Europe and I’ve fallen in love with the architecture, rich culture, and of course…the food. When comparing Europe to America, I still can never come to a conclusion on which is better. There are just too different!

Recently, a few of us on the Jellynote Team attended Robbie Williams’ concert at AccorHotels Arena in Paris. I wouldn’t go as far to say that his sound is something different from American artists, but the performance I witnessed had noticeable differences when comparing to American performances.

I’ve attended many concerts all over America. They range in size, production value, and genre. I’ve seen artists like Brittany Spears who lip sync entire concerts and bands like Green Day, Journey, and Arcade Fire where their instrumental skills take control of the concert and captivate the audience. Regardless if the artist is from America or not, I noticed that there are differences in the way artists perform for a given audience.

No Lip Syncing or Vocal Tracks

Robbie Williams, who has been singing for almost 30 years now, sang every note! More often than not, American performers will add vocal tracks that they sing on top of or they will (noticeably) lip-sync along. When American artists lip-synch it is usually in order to put more into their performance or dancing. Robbie entertained the entire crowd effortlessly and still hit every note along the way. I was truly impressed. He made it about the performance, but also his voice and talent! After all, that is why people attend live performances, right?

The Stage

I’ve seen some extravagant stages. Kanye and Drake featuring floating stages, Kid Rock’s use of fireworks and flames, and I’ll never forget U2’s 360° stage…that easily cost a fortune (and a half)! Robbie Williams’ stage set-up was impressive in other ways. The dancers were dynamic and vibrant while the band members played with passion and intensity. American concerts often feature dancers, but I can’t remember a performance where my attention lingered on the supporting dancers sometimes more than the artist himself!

Outfits

Robbie was no Lady Gaga or Rihanna when it came to outfit choice; even though he wore a skirt. During the show, he changed his outfit not once, not twice, but never! Even Justin Bieber changes his outfit, on average, 4 times a show. Although I love a good outfit change, Robbie failing to impress us with lavish style and flashy garments simply demonstrated his desire to be on the stage and in front of his fans the entire time. There have been many concerts I have attended where the artist leaves the stage for 2-5 minutes, multiple times during the show, to change into another outfit. I felt that Robbie’s number one concern was to ensure that his fans were entertained by him for the entirety of the show.